How to use Viber on PC
Viber was initially developed as a mobile application; it is its primary form. It should be installed and registered on a mobile device and be tied to a phone number. If you did not have a chance to try this service so far, please refer to the article about operating Viber on Android devices, and, of course, we also covered the issue on running Viber on iOS phones and tablets.
However, there is also the desktop application, and you can create Viber account for PC to use this product on your powerful desktop computer with its large screen, which is especially useful if you want to have a video call.
The concept of a Viber account is that there is one general ID which is a mobile phone number of the device where you got this application first and registered it. This account also covers more devices which have this software installed on them, in most cases they are additional tablets and desktop computers or laptops. These devices will not need SIM cards of their own, however, they must be tied to the primary mobile device, and the user will need it to verify additional devices for having this application installed and working on them. After that, all the applications on all locations, both desktop computers and mobile tablets, will be fully synchronized.
To use Viber on PC, you need the desktop application (there are editions for Windows and Mac, besides, there are additional builds for some “specific” versions of these OS, you can always get the suitable piece for your environment) and your primary smartphone with an active Viber account.
How to install Viber application on PC and activate it
In this article, we'll deal with the desktop application for Windows computers. Go to the download page of the official website and choose the necessary edition there.
Download the version for Windows and execute the file to install on your PC. It will ask you if you already have Viber on your phone.
Prepare your mobile phone with the primary Viber instance: you will need it to verify your desktop application and tie it to your existing account. To create Viber account for PC, enter the phone number you used for the initial registration.
Now you need to activate the desktop application to use Viber on PC. It is done with the QR code. The desktop application will generate it, and you will need to read that code with the internal QR scanner.
The scanner should be launched automatically on your phone. However, if it is not, open it yourself: click the three lines icon at the bottom-right corner of the application window to open the menu and scroll it down to QR code.
Hover the mobile phone with the scanner over the QR code shown by your desktop Viber application. It will scan it and recognize your account. That's all. The desktop application is verified and the sync process will be launched immediately. During this process you will be asked to approve the synchronization of the chats history, please do this.
All applications belonging to the same account are fully synchronized on all locations. They will have the same contact lists retrieved from your phone and keep all the messages history. There won't be any difficulties if you need to start the chat on one desktop machine and continue it on a mobile phone while being on the road.
How to use the Viber application on a laptop or PC under Windows OS
After you installed the app on your desktop computer and verified it, it also retrieves your contact list from the phone to sync them with the primary device. You will be able to use the service in the same way as you do on your mobile phone for texting, sending files and making voice and video calls.
Personal and group chats and exchanging files with the desktop application
Click View – Show contacts to get the full list of all contacts present in the desktop application. As you see, there are both Viber contacts and just the phone contacts.
You can communicate with them using this service as well, however, this won't be free of charge. We'll get to that point further.
See the previously saved chats in the desktop application? You can just choose any of them and continue your communication. The interface is similar to the one of the mobile app, just enter the text into the bottom field and send it.
You can also add different file attachments. Click the + icon in the text field of the desktop application, and the Windows Explorer will offer you to browse to the folder on your computer where you keep the necessary files.
Or right-click on any chat or a contact in the list and choose the option to send file or a photo.
To make your communication brighter and more emotional, use emoticons and stickers. By the way, note that there are some predefined sets of stickers, and you can get additional ones.
However, the Sticker Market with free and paid stickers is available in the mobile version only, but your sticker sets will be downloaded by the desktop application, too, and get in sync with the primary device.
If you want to have a common chat for several people at the same time using the desktop application, you can create a group. And, of course, you can add new participants to an existing chat.
To add more people to your current conversation, click the icon on the top of the chat. The list of other contacts will be produced — choose other participants and click Save.
To create a new group, click Conversation – New conversation and choose people from the list you would like to add to that group. Then click Start.
Using the desktop application for making voice and video calls
This feature made Viber very popular. It is, in general, similar to the function offered by the “sectoral leader” Skype: you can have voice conversations and video chats for free and without time restrictions between its own different accounts, all you need is the Internet connection and the free application installed on your mobile device or a computer.
Besides, it is easier with this product: it does not require making separate user accounts, you can communicate with your regular contacts from the phone book. Also, it provides decent quality and consumes less resource than Skype, no wonder that this option is in high demand.
Voice and video calls between Viber users are not charged. Check the contact list first of all, those contacts which also are registered in Viber are marked by the corresponding sign, and this means you can use this service to have a free voice/video chat with them.
There are two ways to launch a call in a desktop application:
- Click the handset icon in the current chat window, it will offer you to choose between a free call and a paid Viber Out call (the latter is the option for connection between this application and a usual phone number). Click on the camera icon to start the video call.
- Right-click on the necessary person in a contact list of the desktop app and choose the option from the drop-down menu.
These are the free options available for performing a live conversation. However, your counterpart might not have Viber or a smartphone, or an Internet connection at that moment. In this case, you can use Viber on PC to call to a usual landline or mobile number from this desktop application.
This service is paid, however, its rates are lower than the Skype prices and significantly lower than the prices of the mobile phone providers, especially for international calls.
Go to Tools – Options – Viber Out to get the information about the rates and choose the payment plan.
There you can see the current rates for different geographical regions, and when you click on any of them, you will be also offered special service plans for definite areas.
Like Skype, Viber also offers two types of payments for this service: Credits and Subscription. By purchasing Credits, you put a certain amount on your balance and you use it when you make calls. It is the solution if you might need this time after time, but not regularly. For those who need often calls, subscription will suit better, as you get a package of minutes for a month at a definite price.
Note that you can track your calling activity, however, you will need to create a separate account and log in online to get access to these stats data. You can do this from within the application itself, in the Viber Out section of the menu:
When you purchase the service, you can call from your desktop to a mobile or a landline phone number. For those contacts in your list which are not marked by the Viber sign, it will be the only option — just click the handset icon to start a call. Or go to the Call section and choose the option.
For those contacts having Viber you will get both the free and paid calling options in the menu to choose the necessary one.
Or you can use Viber on PC to dial the number directly from the desktop app: go to the Call section, select Show dialer. Then enter the country code, the full number and call.
Recording a voice message with the desktop application and sending it to the necessary contact in Viber
It can be that you need to send a message to your contact who is offline at the moment. It is not a problem, you can send it, it will be saved and encrypted on the dedicated servers, and as soon as an addressee is online again, that message will be delivered. However, you might not want to type the text for any reason. In this case, you can record a voice message and send it like any other file.
To use Viber on PC for creating the voice message, connect the microphone to your computer or a laptop first to provide a good sound quality of the record. Then open the desktop application, find the contact you need and double-click on it to open the chat. Click the microphone icon and start speaking.
If you want to cancel the process, click the red cross sign. When you complete your speech, click the green tick symbol, and this will send the audio file to your contact automatically.
And if you want to revert everything after you sent the message by mistake, you can delete it — this service allows erasing any message completely. Right-click on it and choose the option to delete the data for you and your contact. After that, it will be deleted in your application, on the server (if it is still not delivered) and on the destination device (if it is received already). The developers of this product assure that the data are not saved on their servers after delivery.
As you see, it is useful to create Viber account for PC and have an additional copy there. The desktop application lacks some options which are presented in the mobile version (for example, we described special privacy options for text chats available in the mobile apps). However, the general functionality of the desktop software is good, it allows performing all the tasks to communicate with your friends by text messages, voice and video calls.
